Shadows on the Moon

Zoe Marriott (author)

Walker Books, UK: Australian release October 2011; 454pp

ISBN: 9781406318159 

Genres: adventure, historical fiction, romance

Issues: family, friendship, identity, loyalty

Suzume's life falls apart when her father is charged with treason and brutally executed in front of her, her cousin shot down beside her as they flee; she miraculously escapes, they do not. She and her mother only survive due to the protection of a powerful Japanese Lord.

Suzume soon realises that while her mother is happier in her new life, her daughter will only be accepted if she learns to project the illusion of the perfect Japanese noblewoman. Haunted by the things she has seen, Suzume soon finds there are many kinds of illusion and she has a remarkable gift for weaving them. Fleeing her terrifying and dishonourable stepfather, Suzume becomes Rin, a drudge. When this role puts her at risk, she finds another. With her father's death her internal world has been shattered and she finds that relationships she took for granted have never been particularly stable anyway. Suzume's grasp on her sense of self is extremely fragile, her judgement of others confused. Her only certainties are her newfound gift for casting illusions and her longing for revenge. But revenge can be an all-consuming journey, leaving little room for friendship, freedom... or love. Will she really give herself to a prince to help her dead family find peace? Or will she choose another path?

Zoe Marriott has recrafted the Cinderella fairytale into an absorbing, intense, complex narrative in which relationships are realistically drawn. The dominating, power-hungry stepfather is all too believable in his relentless need to control those around him: people are possessions or tools – and sometimes both. Suzume's mother is a fascinating character despite her self-absorption: in a world where women have little power except in their own household, she seeks the kudos and contentment that comes from children and familial duties. Suzume, with her uncomfortably strong will, reminds her mother of a past she wishes to ignore. What the mother doesn't realise is that her attempts to find a happier path are ultimately as costly to herself and others as those made by her second husband.

Marriott has woven a story as subtle and dense as any of Suzume's own illusion weavings. By showing Suzume's self-harming behaviours and self-destructive choices, Marriot reminds readers that tragedy is not glamorous and that pain is soul-destroying. Many try to help Suzume find another path, to let go of her anger and self-blame, to set her free of the prison she has made for herself – a prison of self-hatred and self-doubt. Marriot shows quite clearly that our choices are our own – as are other people's. We cannot always help those making poor choices, nor can others always help us, but there is enormous hope and possibility in love: familial (although not always), fraternal and romantic.

The strong romantic line is an interesting one as Marriott uses Suzume's forbidden love, Otieno, to personify both healthier choices and a less constricted society, as well as celebrating relationships based on equality of mind, spirit and life journey: 'The marks I bear were given to me by my family. They are a sign of the trials I have endured, the skills I have gained, the respect I have earned. They say who I have been, and who I am. Yours are the same.' (p377)

While there is plenty of drama and action to keep readers absorbed, Shadows on the Moon is a subtle, layered piece of writing containing a cast of interesting, nuanced, thought-provoking characters, making it a very pleasant change from much of the current YA fiction.

Warning: Suzume self-harms by cutting and burning herself at various points. It is made clear that she is punishing herself, an expression of her self-loathing, but also that it is an unhealthy expression of a mental pain that finds relief in a physical expression of it. Other characters who know what she is doing make it clear that it is the wrong thing to do but it is shown as an addiction she cannot break until she is at peace with herself. While this is realistic, it will disturb many readers.